A standard database access method developed to make it possible to access any data from any application, regardless of which database management system (DBMS) (see definition) is handling the data. ODBC does this by inserting a middle layer, called a database driver, between a database application and the DBMS. The purpose of the driver is to translate the application’s data queries into commands that the DBMS understands. For this to work, both the application and the DBMS must be ODBC-compliant; that is, the application must be capable of issuing ODBC commands and the DBMS must be capable of responding to them. ODBC is an essential data integration element.